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Columbia students develop software to run iOS apps on Android

A group of six PhD students at Columbia University have developed Cider, an OS compatibility architecture that permits native iOS apps to run on Android, The Next Web reports. Cider accomplishes this using binary compatibility techniques rather than a virtual machine layer, allowing Android apps to continue functioning on a device while the OS abstraction layer is in place. The report notes the performance of iOS apps on the device is “less than stellar” and not all app features can be supported — for instance, apps that require a device’s camera, Bluetooth, or GPS won’t work. Cider is still a prototype at this time, however, and the students have indicated they are continuing to develop the software.